3 ms·
Elevators are not cranes. There is always a counterweight, so "dropping" empty cabin is not generating energy. During that time you're lifting counterweight.
by srigi 8y ago
Elevators are not cranes. There is always a counterweight, so "dropping" empty cabin is not generating energy. During that time you're lifting counterweight.
- RobertRoberts 8y agoWouldn't the counterweight only balance (a guess) an empty elevator? Therefore any added weight would be useful for energy recapture? I realize there may be some over compensation in play, but unless the counter weight's weight is actual adjusted for each load, there should be something to work with.
- andechs 8y agoCounterweights are typically 40% of the a loaded elevator car weight, minimizing the overall work that needs to be done to lift any given car, while also limiting the maximum power required to lift a full car.
- bunderbunder 8y agoRegenerative elevators do exist. I've no idea what they cost, but, shooting from the hip, I'm guessing they aren't worth the added price on any but the biggest buildings. Any weight difference due to meatsacks in the elevator will be relatively small compared to what a drum full of concrete weights. Going off the math in TFA, and assuming your average meatsack weighs 75kg, lifting one of them 15 meters up (so, roughly, to the top floor of a 6 story building) stores about half a smartphone battery worth of potential energy. So you probably want to be lifting them much more than 15 meters - and be packing your elevator cars full of them - if you want to pay off the cost of the fancy regenerative kit in any reasonable amount of time.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]